Understanding master_tops

Up until now, we have referred to the top setup exclusively using the top.sls file. But just as other resources in Salt are modular, so is the top subsystem. By default, Salt will obtain top data from the filesystem, but you can also reach out to external resources. These resources may also be referred to as master tops.

Like state files, the only real requirement of a master top is that it return data to Salt in the same format that would be generated by the top.sls file. This format contains a dictionary of environments, each of which has another dictionary containing targets, each of which contains a list of formulas for those targets.

Some of the master tops that ship with Salt are as follows:

• cobbler: An infrastructure deployment tool based around machine images

• mongo: A popular NoSQL database solution

• reclass_adapter: A community project that aims to standardize configuration management between multiple disparate projects, including Salt

• varstack: A project...